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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not my cuppa. It was interesting enough to finish but i never would have read it if not for book club. I didn't connect with the characters and some of the dialogue, especially the man lead's, was awkward. Just instagram mental health platitudes. It did make me rediscover my love of Wonderwall though.
It took me a long time to pick up this book. I kept putting it off because the title is just the trope. I also wouldnt want to read a book called "enemies to lovers" or "love triangle." I need there to be someting more to the story than the exploration of a single trope.
It took me a long time to pick up this book. I kept putting it off because the title is just the trope. I also wouldnt want to read a book called "enemies to lovers" or "love triangle." I need there to be someting more to the story than the exploration of a single trope.
I had to let it sit and think about it for a moment to give my review..
And can I just say first of all, a warning to other readers.. the audiobook DOES NOT give trigger warnings for childhood abuse and neglect like the Kindle and physical do..
with that being said, had I seen those warnings going in and knew that they scattered it traumatically through out, I never would've even picked this book up.
I looked up what the book was about, the brief explanation and it seemed like a good story. But I had a really tough time with this book. I honestly wanted to DNF it and had to put it down multiple times. I mainly listened to it on audio, and I liked the narrators voices, but I ended up speeding it up to 3.0 and 3.5 just to get through it. It felt like such a chore.
I wish the age gap was older.. not 17 and 34. It honestly really bothered me. I feel like the entire book they kept talking about how forbidden the age was, how he's so much older and she's too young, how tara was her bestie and sister and so on and so forth. I found it very repetitive. Then justifying it repeatedly, but TECHNICALLY 17 is the age of consent, technically.. Also, constantly flashing back and bringing up the child abuse and neglect, and not just bringing it up but going into very much detail Every. Single. Time. And quite a few things just didn't make sense to me through out the book. I felt for Halley, and saw myself in some little parts of her.. But also mainly she was just so frustrating to me. I kinda liked Reed, but he was also frustrating to me.
I did like Whitney the mom and ladybug the dog.. the ending was interesting, and wrapped it up nice.
I cried multiple times throughout this book. I felt it was a very heavy hard book and was incredibly rough to get through..
Not to yuck anyone's yum, but this book kinda just really missed the mark for me.
Might come back to review more later.
edit. came back to move my rating to a 3.
And can I just say first of all, a warning to other readers.. the audiobook DOES NOT give trigger warnings for childhood abuse and neglect like the Kindle and physical do..
with that being said, had I seen those warnings going in and knew that they scattered it traumatically through out, I never would've even picked this book up.
I looked up what the book was about, the brief explanation and it seemed like a good story. But I had a really tough time with this book. I honestly wanted to DNF it and had to put it down multiple times. I mainly listened to it on audio, and I liked the narrators voices, but I ended up speeding it up to 3.0 and 3.5 just to get through it. It felt like such a chore.
I wish the age gap was older.. not 17 and 34. It honestly really bothered me. I feel like the entire book they kept talking about how forbidden the age was, how he's so much older and she's too young, how tara was her bestie and sister and so on and so forth. I found it very repetitive. Then justifying it repeatedly, but TECHNICALLY 17 is the age of consent, technically.. Also, constantly flashing back and bringing up the child abuse and neglect, and not just bringing it up but going into very much detail Every. Single. Time. And quite a few things just didn't make sense to me through out the book. I felt for Halley, and saw myself in some little parts of her.. But also mainly she was just so frustrating to me. I kinda liked Reed, but he was also frustrating to me.
I did like Whitney the mom and ladybug the dog.. the ending was interesting, and wrapped it up nice.
I cried multiple times throughout this book. I felt it was a very heavy hard book and was incredibly rough to get through..
Not to yuck anyone's yum, but this book kinda just really missed the mark for me.
Might come back to review more later.
edit. came back to move my rating to a 3.
I liked the forbidden love aspect of it, with him being her best friends father (best friends dad always gets me for some reason)(Ive never liked any of my friends dads like that, so Im not really sure why). I liked that it felt "wrong" for more than just the age-gap. Also the tension...top tier.
Ok I have thoughts about this book. Older by Jennifer Hartmann is an emotionally charged, morally complex romance that left me feeling conflicted. The novel explores the intense connection between a deeply troubled young woman and a much older man, who, while kind and protective, should have exercised better judgment.
I can understand Halley in some messed up way. Of course she’s going to be infatuated with Reed. He’s everything her father isn’t. So she becomes borderline obsessed. Her frontal lobe isn’t fully developed due to her age so she has these fairytale like hopes and dreams when it comes to Reed. Gosh, she’s cried so many tears throughout the book. It was almost a different kind of abuse. Their past moment of connection at 17 and 34 already felt questionable, but the revelation that she is his daughter’s friend and his ex’s foster child adds another layer of unease.
Reed is who I’m really disappointed in… c‘mon, man! You’re the adult here! Yet, you send her mixed messages and ultimately keep her on the hook.
Hartmann does an excellent job portraying trauma and healing, making the characters’ bond compelling, yet the power dynamics and ethical gray areas were hard to ignore. It’s a beautifully written but deeply uncomfortable read—at the end love prevails as love knows no age.
I can understand Halley in some messed up way. Of course she’s going to be infatuated with Reed. He’s everything her father isn’t. So she becomes borderline obsessed. Her frontal lobe isn’t fully developed due to her age so she has these fairytale like hopes and dreams when it comes to Reed. Gosh, she’s cried so many tears throughout the book. It was almost a different kind of abuse. Their past moment of connection at 17 and 34 already felt questionable, but the revelation that she is his daughter’s friend and his ex’s foster child adds another layer of unease.
Reed is who I’m really disappointed in… c‘mon, man! You’re the adult here! Yet, you send her mixed messages and ultimately keep her on the hook.
Hartmann does an excellent job portraying trauma and healing, making the characters’ bond compelling, yet the power dynamics and ethical gray areas were hard to ignore. It’s a beautifully written but deeply uncomfortable read—at the end love prevails as love knows no age.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
